


Half Agony, Half Hope

by sanascilla



Category: SKAM (TV), The Office (US)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Romantic Comedy, Stuff happens, dramedy?, everyone works together in an office
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 19:12:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12217173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanascilla/pseuds/sanascilla
Summary: Yousef and Sana are desk buddies and best friends, strictly nothing more. They're long past the age of stolen glances and high school romances that don't last. Or, at least they think they are.The Office AU, with influences from Persuasion by Jane Austen.





	Half Agony, Half Hope

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Re-posted! I don't know why AO3 keeps cutting off my last few paragraphs hahaha
> 
> Title is a quote from Persuasion, chapter title is from 'Vi er perfekt men verden ikke det' by Cezinando :)

     Sana stares blankly at her computer screen, 2Pac blaring in her ears. In the past hour, she’s cleared her desk, rearranged her post-its and signed a dozen forms. It’s a bit of a slow day as a temp in quality management at Hartvig Nissen Pharmaceutical.

     There's a ping from her computer, and Sana excitedly opens her inbox. It’s an email from Isak, who is not-so-mysteriously missing from his desk.

**From isak.valtersen@hartvignissen.no:**

           ** _SANASOLLLL <3 Can you help me print twenty copies of this order form? Dr Skrulle has been asking for it since last week._ **

**From sana.bakkoush@hartvignissen.no:**

           ** _Fine. You owe me one. Go finish making out with Even and get your ass back up here ASAP before somebody finds out you’re spending paid hours in Naesheim Refrigeration._ **

     Isak replies with a wink and another heart. To be honest, Sana’s doesn’t really mind, she finished most of her work by lunchtime and is bored enough to do Isak’s bidding. Just as she spins around in her chair, getting up to go to the printer, there is a flurry of motion from the cubicle next to hers. Sana yelps as Yousef rushes past her, bumping into her chair.

     “Race you to the copier!”

     Sana can’t believe she’s running for a turn on the fucking printer _again–_ but she can’t help it. There’s only one printer on their level, plus Yousef tends to bring out her competitive streak (mostly in basketball). She’s not going to let him win this time, he’s won way too many dibs on the printer this week.

     They slow down, squeezing past some people gathering in the tiny hallway. The moment the pair break free, Sana tries to gain a lead, reaching out to grab Yousef’s shirt collar and disrupting his momentum.

     “That’s cheating!”

     Sana turns around, running backwards. Yousef seems to have given up, placing his hands on his knees. “Payback for tripping me yesterday, Yossi!”

     Yousef makes a sudden movement, sprinting forward, taking Sana by surprise. She runs backward even faster, cocking her head to the side, grinning evilly at Yousef. But his eyes are widened, looking at something behind her–

     “Sana, watch out!”

     There is a chaotic blur of scattered papers and a white lab coat. Sana turns around and finds a familiar blonde lady in the mess, eyebrows raised.

     “Oh God, I’m so sorry Dr Skrulle!” she exclaims, bending down to pick up the papers. Yousef bends down as well, helping her gather them. The papers turn out to be pictures of carrots and babies in Halloween costumes. Sana bites down on her tongue, holding back her laughter at the absurdity of it all. The next company meeting is going to be interesting.

     “Here you go, boss,” says Yousef, handing the papers over to Dr Skrulle.

     “Thank you, children,” she replies, not the least bit fazed by them getting a glimpse of her odd photos. With a flourish, she waves and walks away to her office.

     They finish their race to the printer, and Sana emerges victorious. As Sana’s copies begin printing, they lean against the printer, panting. Sana’s phone vibrates in her pocket.

           **KARIM:** **_Dinner today? I’ll pick you up from work._ **

           **SANA:** **_Sure_ **

     “An important text from Dr Skrulle?” Yousef asks, grinning.

     “No, just...just a message about dinner. From Karim.”

     “Oh.”

     Yousef’s smile wavers for a moment. Sana avoids his eyes, biting her lip. Karim is still a sore point between the two of them. Sana looks down at the ground. It can’t be helped. Her and Yousef _were_ exes in a way, if one counts a single summer date in high school that led to nothing.

     Sana’s copies finish printing, and Yousef stands up for his turn on the printer. The silence is disrupted as Nikolai Magnusson, from sales, walks up to them. His face is as red as the fluorescent blob he appears to be carrying on his plate.

     “Did you put my stapler in jello?” Niko narrows his eyes, looking accusingly between the two of them. Seeing that neither of them had an answer, he thrusts the plate at them. “Eat it.”

     “It wasn’t us,” Sana answers. “Pretty sure most jellos have pork gelatin. Yousef and I don’t eat pork.”

     Yousef chimes in. “You should just eat the jello. Share it with the whole office. Wouldn’t want to waste it, heard cherry’s a really nice flavour.”

     Niko pauses, grinding his teeth. “I’m letting you off this time, Yousana. I’ll be watching you,” he says with a huff. He walks away, carrying his plate towards the break room. The moment Niko is out of sight, Sana lets out a giggle, which eventually turns into raucous laughter as Yousef does an exaggerated imitation of Niko.

     Taking a moment to stand up and catch her breath, Sana looks at Yousef questioningly. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

     “Yeah. Figured he deserved it after trying to steal your client list.” Yousef collects his copies from the printer tray, and they walk back down the hallway to their adjacent cubicles.

     Sana pulls out her chair, giving it a little spin as she sits down. “You know, the number of times you’ve pulled pranks on Niko is probably illegal.”

     Yousef stands in front of his chair. “I’d catch a grenade for you, jump in front of a train for you, you _know_ I’d do anything for you,” he says in a mock dramatic tone, placing his hand over his heart. The corners of his eyes crinkle in a playful grin.

     Sana rolls her eyes, smiling, and turns back to her computer. Yousef still hovers behind her at her desk.

     “All for you, girl,” he says quietly.

     He gives her a little pat on the head. Sana swallows, opening her mouth slightly in reply, but finds herself at a loss for words. She shakes her head out of that momentary stupor, switching her computer back on to write an email.

     Yet, a few minutes later, she finds herself smiling absent-mindedly at her keyboard. She angles her head to the right, watching Yousef tapping a pencil on his chin, probably thinking up of another meme-worthy advertisement for kids’ vitamins.

_All for you, girl._

     A buzz from her phone forces Sana to drag her eyes away.

           **KARIM:** **_Sana!! I’m so sorry, can’t make it for dinner today :( An entire football team just came in on an ambulance, somehow all of them got injured. Guess who was forced to take an extra shift to take care of them *sigh*_**

     Sana feels a slight pang of disappointment, she hasn’t seen Karim much since he started his residency at the hospital.

           **SANA:** ** _It’s ok, I have some extra work to finish anyway. Good luck treating the football team haha_**

           **KARIM:** ** _Love you_** ** <3**

           **SANA: <3**

     Sana puts her phone down, once more looking at Yousef. This time, he turns and their eyes meet, raising his eyebrow slightly when he realises Sana’s been looking at him. He smiles, an impossibly warm smile that lights up his entire face–and for a moment, Sana briefly glimpses a distant future with Yousef–one of long hugs, warm kisses, shared beds and twelve children. A future that was completely unlikely, for Yousef wasn’t Muslim, for all that they had in common it was at such a crucial point their lives diverged. And she had Karim now, who was everything she could ever ask for–kind, ambitious, caring and _Muslim_.

     And that would have to suffice.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :) I'll try my best to post as frequently as possible, but I can't promise much as I have 'A' Levels in a month, I do advise you to subscribe for updates if you're interested XD Hope you enjoyed this :)


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